Data center developer pulls permits from Hermantown agendas

HERMANTOWN — One of the companies involved in bringing a proposed data center to Hermantown requested to have its permits removed from future agendas.

In a Nov. 10 letter posted on Hermantown’s data center project webpage, Dan Lessor with Minneapolis-based Mortenson Development wrote that his team is taking “the public’s requests for more information seriously” and plans to host an open house to facilitate open dialogue on the project. No date or venue has yet been announced.

"The project team understands the significance of the proposed project, not just as an infrastructure investment, but as a long-term relationship with residents, business owners, the City of Hermantown, St. Louis County and the greater Northland region," he wrote.

Hermantown officials already approved a re-zone for the project area, near Minnesota Power’s Arrowhead substation, after approving what’s called an Alternate Urban Areawide Review, or AUAR, for what they called “light industrial development.”

That action was challenged in court earlier this month, with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy joining the grassroots “Stop the Hermantown Data Center” group to demand further environmental review for the large-scale data center.

Development on the project has reportedly stalled since the city responded to an October petition for an environmental assessment worksheet.

Opponents of the project claim there has not been enough transparency with the process, citing public officials in Hermantown and St. Louis County signing non-disclosure agreements, and data requests indicating that city staffers described "Project Loon" as a data center almost a year before it became public knowledge.

The property is known to contain at least one designated trout stream, and the project proposes about a million square feet of development in what is currently a forested parcel.